Tuesday, May 30, 2006

At least it had stopped rainin g long enough for us to get to the boot sale and back. This time it was at the car park of the supermarket where Kwik Save used to be. Quite a few stalls considering the weather was very changeable. More punters kept turning up as the morning wore on. Another boot over at Frodsham had been cancelled due to the rain so I expect they were coming from there.Got a few bargains including a nice Picture Show Annual for 1933 thats a bit tatty but good for collaging purposes. Also some more games and two CD's - Glastonbury and Mungo Jerry (best of). Hazel got some bottle openers which I expect will turn up on her blog soon. Archie got a couple more Horrible Histories books. Later we went back again with Audrey and Doreen to rummage some more. I found three records for a quid each. Wilf Carter, Roger Dee ( autographed) and Granpa Jones. I've already put the first two up at Boot Sale Sounds and I expect Granpa Jones will join them soon.The Circus Hankies image is the front of a box of handkerchiefs that Hazel bought at yesterday's boot sale.

Sunday, May 28, 2006

We are did quite well at the boot sale this morning at Hartford in the car park of the Bowling Club. Hazel got a pile of metal things including some old tins and gadgets which no doubt will feature on her blog in the coming weeks. She also found some old coronation mugs and cups and a nice bakelite pencil sharpener that clamps to the table edge. Archie got a book about Horrible Histories. I found some PC games including Halo and Daikatana. My best bargain though was a huge thick book about Walt Disney with some great early chapters about the beginnings of animation and lots of story boards and drawings etc. for two quid!After lunch we went for a walk as the weather was o.k. and the rain clouds had kept their distance. Marbury was pretty full but managed to find a quiet path through what was left of the bluebells. Fed the ducks and ducklings with our stale bread. Sat in the bird hide and waited for a mouse to nibble the crusts but he never showed up. Hazel and Archie tried to help some woman and her son fly a kite and I went and got an ice-cream and watched from a safe distance! The wind wasn't consistent enough and it kept crashing.Watched Beetlejuice again tonight on an old video we dusted off. Nice to see again. One of Tim Burton's best early works.Archie has a nasty cold so don't know if we will go to the other bootsale tomorrow.

Saturday, May 27, 2006

About time I added something here. It's Saturday night and nothing much on the telly. Hazel and Archie are watching David Blaine inside a plastic bubble of water . He says things like , "Don't try this at home". Ok Dave, we won't. He wonders why people throw eggs at him over here.Went into town this morning and bought a book about the 50's and 60's- it has photos of Spangles and William Hartnell in it , amongst other things. It was 75p in the Help The Aged shop. Also bought a Topper annual from 1981 for Archie but he already has it so will use as a swap. Hazel and Archie went later to do some shopping. They got lots of iron rich foods as Hazel, we have recently discovered is anaemic and needs to boost her iron levels. So bought some tofu, tahini, spinach and bagels ( which are incredibly rich in iron as everyone knows!)Archie ate some the other day and left the holes as he said he was full and couldn't manage them.Hazel also bought some iron pills. But surprisingly they didn't look like ball-bearings but more like pills you give to a horse. I think she will have to saw them in half.A boot sale tomorrowe at Hartford so hopefully the rain will hold off. It's been particularly drizzly this week but not enough to fill the empty resevoirs down south it seems. Daft i calls it.

Monday, May 22, 2006

We got round half the damp and soggy boot sale at Weverham yesterday befor the drizzle turned to a downpour and we ran back to the car to steam gently and look at our purchases. Archie got the best bargain - a four video set of Futurama for three quid. Hazel found an ironic tin watering can with a leak. I got a DVD of some comedy in aid of Amnesty International. The traffic lights had been vandalised by some drunken hedgehogs in the night so we had to take a detour round the back of beyond to get home. Earlier Hazel made a dash for it whilst they were on permanent red and luckily missed any traffic coming the other way and we certainly didn't want to do that again!This is another collage from the great "Paramount" book that Trevira gave me. More to come.Archie went to town with James on Saturday with James' Mom at a safe distance . They came back here after lunch and made a daft animation together with James providing the voices.Watched the second part of the thrilling Dr. Who adventure about the Cybermen and later the Eurovision Song Contest. Archie's favourites the heavy death metal band Lordi, from Finland, won much to our surprise and delight. Hazel's favourite, the Lithuanian Harry Hill lookalikes, came a close fourth or fifth.

Tuesday, May 16, 2006

A funny day all round really, starting off quite warm and later the heavens opened and buckets of rain came down. But still we are threatened with stand pipes because of the water shortage in some parts! Daft I calls it. Hazel fainted at college and luckily was soon up and about again. She blames not having any breakfast, the stuffy office and stress. A student fainted the other day too she said so maybe a bug going round.I went into town this morning and got a few things including some smoked haddock for a fish pie. Also got some veggy slicing sausage ( soya protein ) and some dried fruit ( apricots and dates ). In the bank I was waiting in my normal queue and the teller told me I was in the wrong place since they'd changed it all and never told me! I went through my Victor Meldrew routine and told him they should put notices up telling people things had changed. An old codger behind me just laughed it off and said sorry to the clerk for being so senile! ( Yes you are)

Made a collage when I got home but not this one. Audrey phoned , wanting to know where we got our colour photo copies made and I told her we have our own and she was welcome to use it. Lo and behold she arrives on the doorstep by the time I put the phone down!The fish pie was very nice despite forgetting to put the boiled eggs in. I don't think they add to the flavour much though.

Saturday, May 13, 2006

When I look in a mirror it says " The gasman cometh". Anytime between 8 and 1. So listening out for his van. I bet he arrives at lunchtime though- they always do! Its the thirteenth today as well. It's damp outside and yesterday a bit thundery. It will hopefully be o.k. for the boot sale tomorrow at Witton Albion.I ventured into town for a walk the other day but didnt find many bargains. I swapped a game I bought from Oxfam. It was a four disc de-luxe edition of Medal Of Honour which i was looking forward to playing but it had no manual or install code. I looked on the internet for ages trying to find a site that had them but no luck. Had to make do with another MOH called Pacific Assault which has only one disc. Trevira from Flickr dropped off the great History of Paramount book to Hazel's office at MMU and she lugged it home for me. Its a wonderful book and shame to cut up but it is damaged and why Trevira thought I might like it- for collaging purposes. Here's one of the first from its pages , one that had some sticky stuff on and print had come off onto this chaps forehead so incorporated it into the punchline.

Wednesday, May 10, 2006

It was Crewe flea market again today. Surprisingly it was Hazel's sister Audrey who phoned us just after 9a.m. to ask if we were going again as she enjoyed it so much last week. Audrey is hardly ever up and about before 10 a.m. so this was quite unheard of! Ofcourse we were happy to go again, especially if the 10p postcard stall was there, which it was. I bought another 20 or so - some of which can be found on my Flickr stream. Audrey bought about 50 - including some for her Mom who couldn't come. Hazel bought some old toffee tins and one contained all kinds of goodies including a message capsule for a carrier pigeon and some tiny hooky tools for what purpose one can only guess! ( see Hazel's blog to see some of them HERE.It was very hot so we only stayed a couple of hours and glad to get home.

Sunday, May 07, 2006

Halfway to the boot sale this morning and the rain came down so we turned round and headed back home. Ofcourse later it cleared and was quite dry by the time we got home. After breakfast we went out again to Marbury and the bluebell woods that were almost ready last week but not quite. They looked fantastic today so maybe it was a blessing the rain came down when it did and we could see them in all their glory. We took a few photos and then round to the mere to feed the ducks and ducklings with out stale bread.Hazel decided to drive back through town to see the Thundersprint bikes and hairy bikers that took up every inch of the pavement. It took ages to cross the Weaver and get through town. We've been before and didnt get to see much of the racing , just the backs of peoples heads. No air display this year either so we didn't bother going. All the pubs seem to do good business with bikers spilling out onto the street. We went home for lunch and watched part of a creaky old Sherlock Holmes film with whatisface? and thingy. Archie is making up songs and strumming along. One is called "The Wonky Eyed Builder" about the man who built Hazel's workshop.

Thursday, May 04, 2006

Including this one of a fairy and her wand. I bought 16 and hazel got about the same. Audrey bought an astonishing 110. She got a lot for her Mom who couldnt be there - feeling a bit poorly. Quite lively market as the weather was good. I bought a PS2 game called "Seek & Destroy" where you drive tanks and do battle with other tanks. Its one of the worst games I've ever seen on the PS2. I shall try and swap it for another very soon.Hazel is getting more fussy with her buys as she turned her nose up at a tin of lead fishing weights for a quid , which isn't like her! I went off round Crewes charity shops afterwards but didnt find much else. Bought a Daily Wail with free DVD of "The Colditz Story". Flo is outside now as the weather is warmer. Its surprising how much room her hutch takes up in the back room. I just opicked her some dandylion leaves from the back garden. It's strange that we have so few of them as next door's garden is packed with them!The grass seed Hazel and Archie raked into the patches in the "lawn" seems to be growing quite well.

Monday, May 01, 2006

Didn't get to the botsale at Frodsham until 11 this morning as the weather was so awful. Freezing cold up on that hill - the wind blowing from the Mersey!Didnt get much. "Life Equatic" on DVD for two quid. Hazel bought a small sparkly cufflink made of brass, copper and mother-of-pearl. We had considered going to the exhibition one of her students was in at Norton Priory but decided it was too cold. Maybe some other time when its warmer. So we back tracked to Lady Hayes to find a great Dr. Who exhibit in the new "barn" that is mostly full of tacky gems and rocks made into jewelry. They had a full size Tardis police box and you could go inside and marvel at the space. It was all done by mirrors and nothing like the original. Still, a fun idea. It even had some sofas inside to sit and watch the Dr. Who intro on a small television. Also Tom Baker's hat and scarf hanging on a coat stand. We wandered round the antique barns and bought a few things including a 50's leaflet from Oslo and a 50p record by Hank Snow which will turn up at Boot Sale Sounds I expect. Archie bought two 70's Topper annuals going in a half price sale.

Slowly catchin g up with all the blogging and Flickring I've missed over the last week whilst being offline.Yesterday we went out early to the boot sale on the field in the middle of Weaverham, which is about five or six miles away. It was drizzling a bit but quite a bit turn-out of punters. We had to park miles from the field though as there didnt seem to be anyway onto it. later we discovered we needn't have and Hazel parked on it when she took her Mom and sister on the second leg. I didnt get all that much despite the wealth of junk displayed. No scratchy records alas, though I looked through many boxes of dubious vinyl. I did get a bunch of dodgy piratey DVD's though for 50p. Mostly trashy horror and sci-fi things I'd missed in thepast like Alien vs Predator and Hellboy. Also Pirates of ther Carribean which seemed appropriate. ( We watched it last night- terrible sound quality but just about watchable ) Also a brand new copy with bonus disc of Spiderman 2, which we enjoyed at the cinema. Not bad for a quid. Bought it mainly for the "making of" and documentaries on the bonus disc. I think the short Lego animation by our old mail art chum Tim Drage and his pals is on it somewhere? If it's not it should be.Delighted to find a video copy of Akira and documentary by the director for FREE when I bought Yojimbo by Japanese director Kurusawa for a pound. No idea when I can get round to watching all this stuff though!Hazel got a few things - two old tins, old metal vice and tin snips and later when she went mack with her Mom and sister she found an old stool ( with lift up lid and storage and drawer ) and a small spanish guitar for a fiver. It had hardly been used. Bought ,apparently for a child who got fed up with it and it had been in its case ever since gathering dust. Archie manged to tune it later and it sounds really nice. Hazel and Archie have been playing duets ( mostly the theme to Mission Impossible!).After the bootsale we took Archie over to his friend Sam's house near the Art School for a birthday party ( they went off to Megabowl ).

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Flobberlob

A kind of diary, a log, a ramble, nothing to do with the Flowerpot Men. My life as an artist, a collagist, a rubber stamper, a networker, a dad , a letter writer and a postcard maker. Observations about this and that in no particular order.

About Me

I grew up in the home counties around London during the 50's and 60's. Went to several art schools including Southend ,Chelsea and Manchester. Trained as a painter and printmaker but now mostly using collage. Collect novelty songs and old mail art amongst other things too numerous to mention.